Carlos Acosta: The Reluctant Dancer

Carlos Acosta: The Reluctant Dancer

Carlos Acosta grew up in a shantytown in Fidel Castro's politically isolated Cuba. Like many boys, he'd skip school to play football or breakdance with his friends. His father's solution to his unruly behaviour was to send him to ballet school where he would be disciplined, trained and fed – for free. It was many years before Carlos came to accept a pursuit he saw as 'sissy'. Today he is one of the world's most stunning classical ballet dancers, admired internationally for his magnetic presence on stage. This is his story.

'Margaret Willis's rounded portrait of "the reluctant dancer" never downplays the hardships of his Havana youth'Independent

Price £:

5.99

eBook

Published:

10 Mar 2011

ISBN:

9781908129185

Available from:

Carlos Acosta: The Reluctant Dancer

Margaret Willis

Carlos Acosta grew up in a shantytown in Fidel Castro's politically isolated Cuba. Like many boys, he'd skip school to play football or breakdance with his friends. His father's solution to his unruly behaviour was to send him to ballet school where he would be disciplined, trained and fed - for free. It was many years before Carlos came to accept a pursuit he saw as 'sissy'. Today he is one of the world's most stunning classical ballet dancers, admired internationally for his magnetic presence on stage. This is his story.

'Margaret Willis's rounded portrait of "the reluctant dancer" never downplays the hardships of his Havana youth'Independent

Price £:

6.99

Paperback

Published:

02 Sep 2010

ISBN:

9781906413712

Available from:

About the author

Margaret Willis

Margaret Willis's interest in ballet stems from a five-year stay in the former Soviet Union (1976-81) where she studied classical ballet and began writing on dance. Visiting Cuba in 1990, she first saw Carlos Acosta and has continued to follow his stellar career. She was a member of London City Ballet from 1990-3, performing principal character roles, is the author of Russian Ballet on Tour and contributed several articles for the International Dictionary of Ballet. She writes regularly for The Dancing Times, Dance Magazine and international publications. In 1986, she was the researcher for a BBC TV documentary on the Bolshoi Ballet.

Titles by Margaret Willis

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